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26.01.09

Use the dawn light to take dramatic pictures

Words by Chris Herring

It’s often said there’s an element of luck in successful landscape photography, but at the same time you can make your own luck – get up and out early.

Waking up before 4am on a summer’s morning may seem like madness – in fact it feels like madness to me, especially if you are greeted with a dull lifeless morning – but if you do time it right the results can be magical. Dawn is my favourite time for photography. The light has a wonderful quality that’s unlike any other time of the day.

Living in the heart of the flat landscape of the Norfolk Broads I am always grateful for any structure to break up the flat horizon and windmills serve that exact purpose. There are many great examples of both derelict and restored/maintained mills throughout the UK and in other parts of the world. With the right lighting, many make for great photographic opportunities.

Planning is the key to successful dawn images of windmills, or any other subject for that matter. I tend to visit a location first with my trusty sun compass in hand. With this little gadget I can work out what position the sun will rise at what time of the year and make a note of which lighting conditions would work well and at what time of the day. I have different lighting preferences for different mills.

For example, restored and well-maintained mills tend to work well with backlighting, particularly when photographing the classic silhouette image. For derelict mills I tend to prefer side lighting.

For dawn photography it’s always worth arriving at your location well before sunrise. Some of the best skies I have ever witnessed have been a good 30 minutes before sunrise itself. It’s a sickening feeling to be driving to your location, watching wonderful pre-dawn colours appear and then disappear before you even arrive at your location.

In the summer months the sun rises very quickly so it’s important to be prepared and set up in advance with all your filters to hand. Once you have photographed the sunrise, don’t pack up and head for home instantly, look for new angles.

When photographing restored windmills I recommend taking time with the composition and timing. Keep an eye on the sails. I always avoid having the tail fan and the main sails cutting into each other. If possible I like to photograph the mills at a 45° angle to show both the tail fan and the main sails in the same image, it adds depth.

I shoot all my landscape work in manual mode using the spot metering facility and graduated neutral density filters. I take a reading from a mid-tone on the ground and a reading from the sky. Then I work out the exposure difference in stops between the two values and choose the appropriate filter for the difference before setting the exposure value for the foreground reading on the camera.

To reduce the risk of flare when shooting at sunrise, try not to shoot directly into the sun. A simple solution is to hide the sun either behind the mill or a nearby tree. You can even break up some of the sun’s power by using the mill’s sails. If you are not shooting the classic silhouetted sunrise or sunset image pay close attention to exposure in the highlights.

The main sails and cap of many windmills are painted white, which can cause havoc with burnt out areas. For this reason I normally tend to err on the side of caution and underexpose by half a stop, along with checking the histogram after each shot. It’s also worth concentrating on the sky coming through the veins of the main sails before you press the shutter button. If there’s a white cloud behind the main sails, it’s amazing how quickly the sails can get lost, blending in with the clouds, and the impact of the picture can really suffer as a result.

Reeds can make for some fantastic foreground interest when illuminated by low light, whether you use a slow shutter speed to blur the movement of the wind or a faster shutter speed to capture them static. This technique doesn’t have to be restricted to reeds it can also be applied to crops.

When photographing golden reeds or other crops in your scene wait until the warm light is illuminating them to really bring out the warm colours. Side lighting and front lighting works well for this, just keep an eye on not only your shadow, but also that from your tripod and camera.

In the spring and early summer there will be plenty of birds nesting amongst thick reed beds, such as the magnificent marsh harrier. So if you are planning on using reeds as foreground interest, be extra careful. Never venture into the thick reed beds, because you could disturb the wildlife of these fragile environments.

If you get up early and you are lucky you may even be blessed with some wonderful morning mist. Mist can transform the dull and ordinary into the extraordinary, that row of houses or that horrible building in the background can suddenly become lost in a sea of low mist hovering over a river or the land. So how can you increase your chances of being blessed with a wonderful misty morning?

The best advice is to pay close attention to the weather forecast, look for high pressure with cold clear nights and either no wind or virtually no wind. Mist often appears over rivers, lakes and damp ground so it’s always worth visiting such locations to increase your chances of success.

If you are hoping for mist don’t be put off if you arrive at your location and it hasn’t put in an appearance. It appears from nowhere and disappears quickly, even well after the sun has risen. If you know of a particular mill that has a nearby vantage point overlooking it, head there if mist is forecast – even in flat Norfolk, there are still vantage points; they don’t have to be hills.

Throughout the UK, there are lots of windmills, some lying derelict, some in good order, but don’t ignore the derelict mills as they make for fantastic shots. Many of the same mills on the Norfolk and Suffolk Broads are shot over and over again, simply because they are easy to get to. Don’t be afraid to explore. Check out an Ordnance Survey map to see if there are any mills near you and take a walk to them, you may find a real gem that other photographers have not yet visited.

KIT BAG

For the majority of my work I shoot using a Canon EOS 5D and 17-40mm lens with a set of Lee ND Grad filters. Although I use the 17-40mm on the 5D, I find I very rarely shoot at anything under 28mm. I also carry a Canon EOS 30D with a 100-400mm lens attached so I can look for detail shots in the landscape.

I always use my Gitzo tripod along with a hotshoe spirit level, a cable release and an angle finder. Angle finders are excellent accessories for the landscape photographer as they block out a lot of stray light and really allow you to concentrate on the composition carefully; they also reduce the need for you to bend down as far to look through the viewfinder.

One disadvantage to shooting early in the morning, especially in summer, is dew. I always wear waterproof trousers and boots in order to avoid getting wet and uncomfortable.

A sun position compass (see bluepondimages.com) and map are always worth keeping on you as if the weather is poor you can explore new locations and plan to return at a later date.

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